I Have My Reasons
by Charra Loon
Summary: Why is it we act the way we do? Here's one Mobster's answer. Setting: Dee and Charra's Cosmos


I Have My Reasons  
By Charra Loon  
  
  
Everyone thinks I don't stand up to Mon*Star because I'm weaker than everyone else. But that isn't it. I don't serve that planet tyrant without question because he's bigger and stronger and more powerful than me. No, that isn't it. In fact, I'd stand up to him in a split second if I could, but I can't. It's not because I'm scared of him or because I want power.  
  
It's because of Jadine.  
  
If she had any friends, they'd call her Jade. But everyone else calls her by her middle name. The same middle name as her mother had, and her mother before her. It's a family thing, she says. Every girl on that side of the family has the same middle name, the one name which brings terror throughout Limbo.  
  
Every law-abiding citizen in Limbo thinks she's bad to the core. They only see the Mob moll Melodia, a wench who's no good and couldn't change to save her life. The less decent citizens see her as a force to be reckoned with. The Mob sees her as one of them, and an easy pick. I only see Jadine, a girl who's just trying to impress and earn the affection of her father.  
  
Whenever someone joins the Mob, it becomes the only family they know. But for Jadine, it really is the only family she knows. Unlike everyone else, who joined in for greed or as a favor to Mon*Star, Jadine was actually born into the Mob. But it wasn't any of Mon*Star's goons who fathered her.  
  
It was Mon*Star himself.  
  
I remember that day she was born. Her mother, Mon*Star's mate, Lina 'Melodia' Star, held little Jadine in her arms like it was the best thing that happened to her. But then, Mon*Star placed the baby inside the transformation chamber. I was ordered to turn it on so the Moonstar's radiation would bathe her. Lina begged Mon*Star to stop; they had lost other children this way. But Mon*Star wouldn't hear of it and hit Lina, just like he always does. Fortunately, Jadine survived, but there was a problem. The Moonstar had left her unaffected, but she never absorbed its energy. That disappointed Mon*Star. He claimed that the only child which would be his heir had to be able to control the Moonstar's power at birth. And so, Jadine suffered something even worse than the fate of Mon*Star's other children, the fate of a neglected child.  
  
Although Lina tried her best to raise her new daughter, Mon*Star only saw the child as another member of the Mob. He would hit Jadine whenever she called him 'Father'. Pathetic, isn't it? Lina, hating to see their daughter suffer like this, and wanting Jadine to grow up well, placed me in charge of her care. As I watched Jadine grow up into a toddler, we became very close. I was more of a father to Jadine than Mon*Star will ever be.  
  
Then, the Mob was captured and sent to the Penal Planet. At least, all of us except for Lina and Jadine. I had spent fifteen years worrying about them both. I didn't know if they'd survive or be killed.  
  
Of course, my worries were pretty much over as we escaped the Penal Planet. Then, a newcomer came to the Mob. She had light green hair in front, and dark green hair, probably a wig, in the back. She wore the most tackiest outfit I've ever seen and had dark shades. When Mon*Star introduced her as Melodia, I knew it was Jadine. She had grown up well, the spitting image of her mother.  
  
We finally had a chance to talk in private and that's where I learned what hardships she went through. After escaping from the officials, Jadine and her mother took refuge on Fence, where they had to fight for their lives. As soon as they heard we'd escape, Jadine came straight here and officially joined the Mob. When I asked what happened to Lina, she paused. She told me that while living on Fence, Lina became severely depressed despite Jadine's attempts to cheer her up. My heart broke as Jadine related back to me the detail of how Lina killed herself before she left.   
  
I then told her what happened after we had escaped. Mon*Star, now desperate for an heir, took a trip to Earth, where he raped a human woman. The woman got pregnant, and Mon*Star had exposed the child to Moonstar radiation as soon as it was born. The child not only survived, but managed to control the Lightstar. Mon*Star had found his heir. Of course, Jadine was upset by this and asked who this heir was. I told her Mon*Star lost track of his heir after he had killed the mother. Jadine, certain she deserved the inheritance, was determined to prove to Mon*Star that she was the perfect candidate for an heir. She played it safe by calling him 'Mon*Star' or 'Planet Master'. She had learned that because of the beatings.   
  
Jadine and I are still as close as ever. I still call her by her real name, but only in private. It was a system we had worked out so that Mon*Star couldn't spy on her through me. She still got into trouble with Mon*Star. Like the time she and Poker Face made him think another mob tried to wipe him out. But she came through. My only worry is that she'll end up like her mother.  
  
Before Jadine was born, I was one of the most rebellious members of the Mob; always talking back, planning against Mon*Star. But things changed after. Mon*Star saw how much I cared for Jadine and used it to his advantage. He actually threatened to kill her if I got out of line. His own daughter! Of course, I had to agree, but I didn't like it. I really did care for Jadine. I even let my own Uncle Rattler down because of it.  
  
Like I said, Jadine's like a daughter to me, and I don't like to see her hurt. I always stand by as I see her fight the SilverHawks. But she's a stubborn girl, one of the few traits she got from her father, otherwise she's her mother's daughter.  
  
Mon*Star, Jadine and I are the only ones who know about her. That creep of a planet master kept his relation to Jadine a secret, and I had to oblige. It wasn't fair, but I had to obey. For twelve years, she was neglected as ever.  
  
I still look out for her whenever I can, and I plot against Mon*Star. But until Jadine's out of the Mob and safe, I can't execute my revenge. Perhaps, she'll lead an honest life. If she can be safe there, then I'd have no regrets. I even hear rumors that she's fallen in love with one of the SilverHawks, particularly that Cowboy Bluegrass. Basically, I hope Jadine gets the message that Mon*Star never cared for her and leave, if not for him. So help me, if the SilverHawks can't keep her safe, I don't know who can.  
  
So, whenever somebody asks me, "Yesman, want to overthrow Mon*Star?", I say no. Then, if they ask me why not, I'd reply:  
  
"I have my reasons." 


End file.
